Think it takes a lot of effort to learn and maintain a mindfulness practice? The first effort is your committment. Given that you're here, let's assume you're committed. Next, it's about remembering, over and over and over again, to come back to this moment, the present.
Here are 5 things that you can try today to get started.
𝟭. 𝙎𝙩𝙤𝙥 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙔𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝘿𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙏𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝘽𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 (or 5)
Take a moment to notice your breath — this will help keep you centered and present in your body throughout your day. When we are present to the body, it is much harder to ruminate about the past or rehearse the future. So go ahead, try it. Take this moment right now to just focus on your breath in and your breath out...where do you feel it? what else do you notice when you're just concentrating on your breathing?
𝟮. 𝙋𝙪𝙩 𝘿𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙋𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚
Set some time each day to put your phone out of reach (if it’s in reach, you might pick it back up without even realizing it -- not to worry, it's completely normal, and we do it too!). Once it is out of reach, keep going about your day and just notice what, if anything, happens.
𝟹. 𝘿𝙤 𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙏𝙞𝙢𝙚
Switching between tasks can actually take up more time, and you’re more likely to make a mistake when you try to multitask. Practice giving all of your attention and awareness to just one task before switching to the next one. This is a hard one, but so rewarding!
𝟰. 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙈𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙛𝙪𝙡 𝙈𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙞𝙣 𝙀𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙏𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙨
The next time you’re doing a seemingly mindless task, like washing the dishes, brushing your teeth, or folding laundry, make it mindful by focusing all your attention on what you sense in your body, heart and mind while you are fully engaged in this task. Challenge yourself to notice 2 things you sense in the body, 2 things you notice in the mind, and 2 things you feel in your heart.
𝟱. 𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙨 𝙔𝙤𝙪 𝘼𝙡𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙮 𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚
There are many so ways to practice mindfulness with movement. It starts by paying attention to the feeling of your feet on the floor as you take each step. See if you can expand this awareness to each step as you take a flight of stairs or a walk outside. How about the feeling in your body during exercise or yoga? Remind yourself to just notice... You don't have to change anything; this is just an exercise to get back to this moment, right now.
Try them all a few times and remember that new things get easier and more familiar with practice.